coldest air of the season arrives this weekend

It has been an interesting 24 hours in the Northstate, with cold temperatures and snow levels down to below 1000 feet. Chico officially did not see any accumulating snow, but locations in the foothills east of Chico did. At my house, elevation 1500 feet, 3 inches of snow fell between yesterday afternoon around 4pm and early this morning. Paradise saw over 5 inches. It's rather unusual (but nor unheard of) for that much snow to fall in early December. This was the first accumulating snowfall at my house in nearly three years. So it happens, but not often. The next big weather story for our area is the cold temperatures that will affect us tonight and tomorrow night. A Hard Freeze Warning has already been posted for tonight through tomorrow morning for the Sacramento Valley, including Chico. Lows will drop into the teens and twenties! Chico will flirt with its record low for December 8th, which is 15 degrees! Temperatures will gradually moderate over the next several days as the sun returns and milder zonal (Pacific) flow returns. Here's Chico's seven day forecast from the National Weather Service: Today A chance of rain and snow showers before 11am. Patchy dense fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 40. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 16. Northeast wind 5 to 7 mph. Sunday Sunny, with a high near 40. Northeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm in the morning. Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 16. Light north northwest wind becoming north northeast 5 to 9 mph after midnight. Monday Sunny, with a high near 46. Northeast wind 7 to 9 mph becoming south in the morning. Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 18. Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 48. Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 53. Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 32. Thursday A slight chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 55. Thursday Night A slight chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. Friday A slight chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 58.